Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1887-05-03
THIRTY YEARS AGO.

u
Murdoch and two sons. Marshal and Ben
son, started from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, 10
Kansas. They had pair OF horses and
wagon and single horse and buggy aud
they were accompanied by three or four
others, who came out to take look at the
Jay hawker state. The Murdoch family
left Ohio in the fall of 1856, arriving at
Mount Pleasant in the early winter, where
the other members of the family remained
while the three mentioned above came to
Kansas. We crossed the Des Moines river
at Bentonville. making straight shoot for
Fort LeavenwOrth, our destination being
Topeka. The writer of this was but youth
hut he remembers the trip very well.
Thomas Murdoch wss Democrat and
from Virginia, and we had no difficulty
in getting through Missouri. We crossed
the river at Piattsburg, arrived on the
grounds of Fort Leavenworth on Friday at
noon where we ate q cold dinner. We
drove to Osawkee for the night and spent
Sunday Al Grasshopper Falls. Arrived on
the north side of Kaw river, opposite To
peka. we were ferried over by Indians, the
Pappans.
Topeka contained twenty or thirty build
ings. mostly concrete" and was a sorry
looking Free State Town" There were
three or four stores, two hotels and some
boarding houses hut the fellows generally
kept bach" Col c. X Holiday, Cope,
St0d, and Willis Gordon. Deacon Farms
worth, the Writings, Clifford Dudley, and
others residing there now were citizens OF
the place then.
During the spring = great town lot craze
set in over the Territory, and hundreds of
paper towns were laid out and shares sold
all over the eastern states. OF course there
were no railroads or telegraph, and really
no stage coaches.
Emporia WAS started by Lawrence syn
dictate, and u town was duly laid cut on
Capt. Conner's present farm a mile south
Of here and was called Ell Dorado. This
place was plated, on paper, and contained
streets, parks aud public squares, but no
houses to speak of. A Topeka outfit laid
out Towanda, on Alex Stearn's farm west
of the Whitewater, and \ stone hotel was
commenced.
A share" in town was worth all the
way from Colt's revolver or
an Indian pony to $500 IN
gold. There were ten or twelve
lots in SHARE" and = fellow was not
considered much account who did not own
q dozen or moro shares IN these embryo
cities
Nearly all the timbered lands in the state
were settled upon during that and the fol-
lowing year and good claim with water
and timber was worth thousand dollars
Kansas TERRITORY had wonderful boom
in 1857, SO and 80. but in the fall of 80
it Set in dry and did not rain again until
September 1860, and poor Kansas got a
very black eye. No grass, no corn, no
crop. of any kind The streams were dry,
the grass burned UP, the outlook being
very bad indeed; so that thousands of
settlers went back to their wives people
for something to eat.
Sixty one Was splendid crop year, I'VE
know all about it as we raised thousand
bushels of corn and five hundred bushels
OF wheat that year., but the war broke cut
and all Kansas was mastering for the fight.
From 1860 TO 1865 our state steadily lost
ground, and not Till the boys came home
from the war in 1865 did things brighten
up. Topeka, Emporia. Lawrence and 9th
er places were struggling, sprswling vii
lagos.
The frat railroad wa. built into the state
Ia 1864, but Emporia did not get road
until the spring OF 1870, the year the writer
came to FL Dorado
Kansas or southwest Kansas exper-
fenced an immense boom about this time
ElDorado Rgan to look up, Wichita.
Newton, Hutchinson, WiDfitld and Vel
lington were laid out and everything WAS
flying high. The ordinary speculator
owned lots in all these towns, and it was
An average days work for real estate
dealer 10 bay or sell an hundred or &C lots
per day.
But what wonders have been aecem-
plshed in these thirty years-in . short
life time, and what an Interesting history
could be written covering this period